


A Guide To Imago

by CharbroilLaFlamme



Series: Bioshock: Measurement of A Father [14]
Category: BioShock 1 & 2 (Video Games)
Genre: BioShock References, BioShock Spoilers, For Science!, Gen, Psychology, Rapture (BioShock)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 05:46:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15745482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharbroilLaFlamme/pseuds/CharbroilLaFlamme
Summary: Gil has concerns, and confides in Tenenbaum.





	A Guide To Imago

Gil understood why Brigid was borderline pissed off at him coming by—even if it was only because of the slightest involvement he’d had with Suchong. The way she said Suchong’s name with such venom, he saw how her mild-mannered outer skin gave way.

“I understand, Doctor Tenenbaum, that you’re upset with my being here.”

“Ach,” she scoffed, then appeared to dismiss him. “You understand little. You knew Suchong.” There it was, the deceased doctor’s name sloughing from her tongue in distaste.

“I—I did know him, you’re right,”

“Then we have nothing more to discuss, Doctor Alexander.” She said outright.

“I want to talk about the Protectors.”

“Why is that?” She asked sardonically, her lips pursed—looking in that moment like an authoritative mother—almost making Gil want to shrink out of her sight. “More tethers? More control?” She asked.

A lighter appeared in one of her hands and a cigarette in the opposite.

She lit up the cigarette in thought, smoke streamed smoothly from the scorched tip. “Why are you really here?” She asked quietly, suspiciously. “Sabotage?”

“Sabotage?” Gil winced. “No, I respect you a great deal,” he rescued the conversation, she seemed to raise a brow, “I just have concerns.”

“And what concerns are these?” She looked at him piercingly, she had always been remarkably feisty.

“About... the Program.”

Her voice remained sharp. “What kind of concerns? The efficiency? Well?”

Gil took her pause as a cue to continue. “In case of an incident, how possible would it be for a Protector to be... restored?”

She let out a smoky breath, Gil geared up for a lecture. “The conversion process is unrefined, Alexander—the Alpha Series, _itself_ , is unrefined. Undoing the result, it is how you say... a _gamble_.”

“But it’s _possible_ , right?”

Tenenbaum fixed him with a look, realising that he had completely phased out her warnings.

“You are naïve, Alexander,” she shook her head, “yes, it is possible, but not without great risk. And the ADAM sickness is another story _altogether_.” She crossed her arms, flicking ashes off of her cigarette. “Why are you asking this of me now? You dehumanise people and now you come back to seek guidance.”

“Well, contrary to what you may think, I’m not a carbon copy of Suchong,”

Tenenbaum grimaced.

“I’m not... _dehumanising_ anyone.”

“What do you call the process, then, _idiot_? The little ones and the Protectors are stripped of humanity, you don’t see what is wrong with this?”

“I picked up from where Suchong left off, he got it all wrong, the girls—he didn’t—he didn’t understand what he was doing wrong—“

“How did you fix Suchong’s mistake?” She said.

“Exposure, light ADAM conditioning—“ Gil struggled to answer.

“ADAM taken directly from the little ones?” Tenenbaum cut in. “Who was the subject? Perhaps they factored in?”

Gil sighed. “It was Sinclair.” he said, his arms crossed loosely—Tenenbaum caught the regret in his tone.

“ _Augustus?_ ” She said, her accent formed the syllables of Sinclair’s forename elegantly. “ _That_ Sinclair?”

“Yes.”

She looked up at Gil, she wore restrained shock on her face. “Why?”

“It’s a long story, Tenenbaum.”

“Und I have all night, Alexander.”

“Before full conditioning, he was able to begin bonding with a Little Sister—naturally.”

“Are you certain we’re discussing the same man, Alexander?” She snarked, though appearing nothing less than dead serious.

“I mean it.” Gil insisted. “He did.”

“But... _Augustus_?” She repeated. “He is no generous man, Alexander—he would not befriend unless he knew there was something he could profit from.”

“He _volunteered_ , Brigid,” he said, “he _chose_ to give it up. He was offered a chance to get out of the Program, but he stayed. He had nothing left—but when Marina came along, he had... something, something he was willing to risk life and limb to protect.” He worked up a half smile. “It isn’t to say love was the big end-all to the program... but it certainly helped. It also helped to pick up Suchong’s slack.”

“Ah, _Suchong_ ,” she clicked her tongue.

“The point being, I think there’s _hope_ , Sinclair—after conversion—he _understood_ the Little Sister, speaking to him in Spanish.”

“It may very well be just simple speech cues.” Tenenbaum said coolly. “But... if there _is_ still man left over in the machine, it could be very _bad_. Programming may break down. Und they will _remember_ who they were. The illusion breaks.”

Gil paused. “Like... with the _Sisters_?”

“Ah, yes,” she uttered sadly, “the little ones are forced to face the truth upon maturity, then—“

“—They go _mad_.” Gil finished, his voice had gone light and shudder-some. “After _years_ of conditioned isolation.”

“The Sisters are easier to handle, Alexander, the Protectors... much less so.” She blinked down at Gil’s feet anxiously. “They will see monsters, and may act accordingly. If they see faces they know, it’s a coin-toss on how they’ll react.”

Gil became frustrated, clenching his fists to only unclench them again and exhale.

Tenenbaum peered at him curiously, noting his tenseness. “Science in Rapture is always so much more tricky, yes?”

“Well, the science of parenthood is not an exact one—besides, I think Doctor Lamb would be the foremost expert in that regard.”

“But I would not expect _her_ to understand the nuances, Alexander.” Tenenbaum hissed. “Her psychology is poison— _she_ is poison. _Bitte_ , do not apply her logic to the Protectors.”

“I’m not,” Gil said, “but Imago doesn’t lend itself exclusively to the life cycle of a butterfly. Perhaps the Protector is a cocoon, and perhaps the man is trying to escape it.”

“Alexander, you _truly_ are naïve.” Tenenbaum said softly. “I hope you know what you are doing...”


End file.
